human allergies – Michael Broad

Are American Wirehair cats hypoallergenic?

September 3, 2023 by Michael Broad

I am sorry to say that the American Wirehair is not hypoallergenic. ‘Hypoallergenic’ in respect of cat breeds means a breed that has a reduced effect on people who are allergic to cats. There is nothing in the reference books or anecdotally which encourages me to say that they are. This is a pretty …

The kind of relationship you want to see between child and animal

July 14, 2023 by Michael Broad

Young girl enjoys the company of the family cat

The behaviour of the young girl in the video interacting with the family cat should be the parenting objective of all mothers and fathers as it will promote animal welfare going forward and improve the lives of both the cat and the child in the video. Of course, the parenting includes educating the child …

Increase in human allergies inc. asthma – reason? – children allergic to cats – spread of cat/dog allergen – environment – lifestyle

May 30, 2023May 30, 2023 by Michael Broad

A Guardian article online interests me because an allergy to cats affects around 10% of people (is this an underestimate?). The conclusion of the Guardian article is that more and more of us are suffering from allergies. Medicines are struggling to keep up. Theresa MacPhail completed a monumental task of looking at the development …

Kids’ exposure to cats reduces risk of allergies to egg, wheat, and soybean

March 31, 2023 by Michael Broad

Exposure to dogs or cats during fetal development or early infancy was estimated to reduce the incidence risk of food allergies until the age of 3 years

A child’s exposure to cats either during fetal development (before being born via their mother) or early infancy (0-1 year describes an infant) reduces the risk of an allergy to egg, wheat and soybean according to a Japanese study published on the Plos One website March 29, 2023 (link: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282725). Exposure to dogs in …